Ferromagnetic Material Sputtering Target

Abstract

A ferromagnetic material sputtering target which is a sintered compact sputtering target made of a metal having Co as its main component, and nonmetallic inorganic material particles, wherein a plurality of metal phases having different saturated magnetization exist, and the nonmetallic inorganic material particles are dispersed in the respective metal phases. By increasing the pass-through flux of the sputtering target, it is possible to obtain a stable discharge. Moreover, it is also possible to obtain a ferromagnetic material sputtering target capable of obtaining a stable discharge in a magnetron sputtering device and which has a low generation of particles during sputtering. Thus, this invention aims to provide a ferromagnetic material sputtering target for use in the deposition of a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, and particularly of a magnetic recording layer of a hard disk adopting the perpendicular magnetic recording system.

1 . A ferromagnetic material sputtering target which is a sintered compact sputtering target made of a metal having Co as its main component, and nonmetallic inorganic material particles, wherein a plurality of metal phases having different saturated magnetization exist, and the nonmetallic inorganic material particles are dispersed in the respective metal phases, a metal phase having the highest saturated magnetization among the plurality of metal phases having different saturated magnetization is in a form of a dispersed material, and the remaining metal phases are in the form of a dispersion medium. 
     
     
         2 . (canceled) 
     
     
         3 . The ferromagnetic material sputtering target according to  claim 1 , wherein the metal phase having the highest saturated magnetization has a size of 30 μm or more and 250 μm or less, and an average aspect ratio of 1:2 to 1:10. 
     
     
         4 . The ferromagnetic material sputtering target according to  claim 3 , wherein the nonmetallic inorganic material particles are an oxide, a nitride, a silicide or a carbide of one or more components selected among Cr, Ta, Si, Ti, Zr, Al, Nb and B, or carbon. 
     
     
         5 . The ferromagnetic material sputtering target according to  claim 4 , wherein the ferromagnetic material sputtering target comprises a dimension and a shape in which a value obtained by dividing an outer peripheral length of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles by an area of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles in a cutting plane of the sputtering target is 0.4 or more. 
     
     
         6 . The ferromagnetic material sputtering target according to  claim 1 , wherein the nonmetallic inorganic material particles are an oxide, a nitride, a silicide or a carbide of one or more components selected among Cr, Ta, Si, Ti, Zr, Al, Nb and B, or carbon. 
     
     
         7 . The ferromagnetic material sputtering target according to  claim 1 , wherein the ferromagnetic material sputtering target comprises a dimension and a shape in which a value obtained by dividing an outer peripheral length of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles by an area of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles in a cutting plane of the sputtering target is 0.4 or more. 
     
     
         8 . A ferromagnetic material sputtering target which is a sintered compact sputtering target made of a metal having Co as its main component, and nonmetallic inorganic material particles, wherein a plurality of metal phases having different saturated magnetization exist, the nonmetallic inorganic material particles are dispersed in the respective metal phases, and the ferromagnetic material sputtering target comprises a dimension and a shape in which a value obtained by dividing an outer peripheral length of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles by an area of the nonmetallic inorganic material particles in a cutting plane of the sputtering target is 0.4 or more.